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I'm reviewing this book, Mapping the World of Harry Potter, edited by noted fantasy author Mercedes Lackey, for The Green Man Review. Most of the writers are fellow sci-fi and fantasy authors or entertainment reporters, not academics, which I had hoped would make it more readable than some of the scholarly tomes analyzing Harry Potter to death. But I am sorry to say that for the most part, the writers sound envious, defensive and just plain silly. Did you know that Harry Potter has simultaneously dismissed God - just as the religious fanatics in this country who called for the book to be banned had feared - and provided a world view that is rife with religious structure and spirituality? You can really prove anything, even directly opposing arguments, with creative use of the source material!

The funniest essay by far is "To Sir, With Love", Joyce Millman's analysis of Snape fan fiction, which focuses heavily on the kinky stories for which she apparently went hunting. She babbles on about Alan Rickman's sexy voice and placing women in perpetually subservient positions. Snape's dom preferences are emphasized over and over. Clearly I have been reading the "wrong" Snape erotic fiction, as in nearly all the Snapefic I have read, het and slash - and we're talking reams, here - I am not pretending at innocence the way I did about Kirk/Spock when interviewing certain Star Trek actors - Snape is much more likely to be subservient or go seeking that elusive goal, a balanced relationship. In fact there are some distinct parallels between Snape and Spock in really good fan fiction.

In better news, Barnes & Noble has The Making of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' on the bargain table. No sexy Rickman voice in the book, but plenty of Marvin the Paranoid Android. And this weekend we all get to hear Leonard Nimoy's sexy voice in his Super Bowl painkiller ad. Ah, the small pleasures of life.

Trek BBS Today

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

Assimilation Arriving In Vegas SoonThe director of Borg Invasion 4D, the new interactive Star Trek attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton, promised that guests would "literally experience what it's like to be assimilated by the Borg."

Bakula Hints That Xindi Questions Will Be Answered SoonScott Bakula (Archer) said that the Xindi conflict was coming to a head and the third season would likely see the conclusion of Enterprise's mission in the Expanse: "I would say there's a very good chance that many of the questions we've all been having about the Xindi and their direction will be answered very soon," he said.

Wise: Original 'Motion Picture' Was 'Unfinished'Director Robert Wise said that he had recently produced a Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture because it was the only film he had left incomplete: "Once I'm finished with a film, I release it and let it have the life it was intended to have. Star Trek was the only film I returned to because it was the only one I truly felt was unfinished."